About this Artist
Ayrton Pisco performs “with aplomb, displaying a spirited line, crystalline and deftly defined” (San Diego Story) and has received top prizes in numerous competitions in the U.S. and abroad. Concert engagements have taken him around the world to venues such as Carnegie Hall, Stadthalle Bayreuth in Germany, Suntory Hall in Japan, Koerner Hall in Canada and Sala São Paulo in Brazil.
A seasoned orchestra musician, Mr. Pisco has performed with prestigious ensembles such as The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the San Diego Symphony, the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and the Sphinx Virtuosi, and under the batons of Gustavo Dudamel, Michael Tilson Thomas, Marin Alsop, Stéphane Denève and Carl St. Clair. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with principals of the New York Philharmonic and been featured on the WQXR and KUSC radio stations.
Mr. Pisco is also a passionate educator. He served as a teaching artist for Yale University’s Music in Schools Initiative, coached strings for the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles and acted as a teaching assistant for San Diego State University’s Community Music School. Earlier this year he also served as a guest artist at the Ibero-American Philharmonic Academy (Iberacademy) in Medellín, Colombia, where he spent a week teaching and performing alongside local students.
Mr. Pisco is a first prize winner of the La Jolla Symphony & Chorus’ Young Artists Competition, the Giavanna Kersulis Memorial Endowment Scholarship Auditions, the Grossmont Music Scholarship Council Competition and the San Diego University Concerto Competition. He has also received awards at the Musical Merit Foundation Scholarship Auditions, the University of Southern California’s Solo Bach Competition, the Música no Museu Young Musicians Competition, the Francisco Mignone String Competition and the Paulo Bosísio String Competition.
Mr. Pisco also enjoys performing in genres such as jazz, tango, bossa nova, choro, mariachi and others. He has collaborated with groups such as Trio Gadjo and Besos de Coco and participated in shows in spaces such as House of Blues San Diego, Broomfield Auditorium in Colorado and Clube da Bossa Nova in Brasília, Brazil.
A native of Brazil, Mr. Pisco holds a Master of Music degree from Yale University, a Graduate Certificate from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Music in Performance degree from San Diego State University. His principal teachers include Ani Kavafian, Margaret Batjer, Pei-Chun Tsai and his father, Ayrton Macedo Pisco.